GREAT FALLS — Butte Central has another state champion.

Junior Tessa Ganzenmueller won the Class AB 100-yard breaststroke Saturday at the 57th Annual Montana High School State Swimming Meet at Great Falls High School. Ganzenmueller finished the race in 1 minute, 14.38 seconds for the victory, which is the first for a Maroon girl this century.

“Tessa dropped 4.77 seconds and stood on the top step of the podium,” BC coach Mariya Peck said. “That swim will be remembered for a long time.”

As a team, the BC girls placed fifth in the meet.

“In a field that included Billings Central, Havre, Hardin, Whitefish, and Bigfork, the Maroons finished fifth in the state,” Peck said. “There were time drops across the board.  There were podium finishes.  There was a state championship. This group did not just attend state. They competed.”

Ganzenmueller also placed third in the 200 freestyle in 2:14, one place ahead of teammate Morgan Hardy, who tapped in 2:14.30. Ganzenmueller dropped nearly nine seconds in that race, while Hardy dropped time and “raced tough” in the finals.

The top six swimmers in each event earn All-State honors.

BC’s girls’ 200 freestyle relay team placed fifth in 2:04.35. That team is made up of Ganzenmueller, Alex Morey, Hardy and Tia Thompson. The team cut 2.80 seconds from the prelims to score valuable team points.

Hardy, Tompson, Arwen Regester, Ganzenmueller and Alex Morey make up the 200 medley relay team, which placed sixth in 2:15.79, also dropping time from the prelims.

BC’s boys saw a handful of Maroons just miss the finals Saturday. They are Shamus Peck, Connor Hardy, Joe Bradshaw and Conan Homes.

(The 2025 State Butte Central swimming team is shown in the top photo, which is provided by Mariya Peck.)